I might get the hogue if grip becomes a serious issue, and save for some prettier grips if I find myself caring.

That is exactly what I decided, and I have yet to give damn about the aesthetic impact of the Hogue grip. Some have said that my gun now looks like it "means business," though I think that was already taken care of by the large hole in the front.

Grip wise, my main concern is that my RIA seems to fill my hand less than the Colt 70 Series Mark III (or was it Mark IV?) that I rented at the range. The fingers of my firing hand have enough excess length to interfere somewhat with the fingers of my off hand when firing (I use a lazy modified Weaver stance). Good grip mechanics significantly mitigate the effect of the excess length, but the nail of my right middle finger did manage to cut my left thumb during recoil when I was tired at the range. Not a lesson I'll need to learn twice, but I find it odd that such a situation wouldn't have been possible with the Colt.

Sorry for the tangent; I figure that almost anything I say about my RIA might help you in some way (even if it only makes you think of something more important).

Hey, what's up with the oily bag that came with the weapon? Should I be storing it in there?

Mine didn't come with an oily bag. All I got was the case (with foam inserts), the pistol, one 8 round blued magazine with base pad, an owner's manual, a registration card, a card offering me a discount on ammunition, and an envelope with two spent casings.

I store my pistol in the case, making sure to wipe it down with the silicone rag from my cleaning kit after every use.

Took it to the range on monday. It fires like a dream. 100 rounds with no jams firing some remmington 230 grain FMJ. The small sights aren't an issue, but I got some wicked hammer bite towards the last 50 rounds. The polished wood grips weren't an issue at all, and I had no slipping. I was shooting low and slightly to the left, but that was user error. The range master hadn't seen one before, tested it out, and thought it was a sweet piece.

For the hammer bite, the range master suggested modifying the hammer rather than the beavertail, and I may do that if it continues to be an issue.

"Just what makes a pure grappler think he can survive with an experienced striker. Especially if that striker isn't following any particular rule set and is well aware of what the grapplers strategies are".

Low left is traditional, and if you know that you're the one doing it, you're ahead of most people out there. Tamara used to work behind gun counters for a living, and she noticed long ago that almost most handguns with fixed sights that come through the shop have the rear sight drifted all the way to the right in an effort to fix all those damn guns that shoot left. :)